Gentleman's Agreement

Introduction

This meeting took place in Poway, California on the trade show weekend
in San Diego Saturday 29th Jan 1994. It was prompted by a discussion
about the increasing sales of blank boards and blanks wheels. A group of
us met to consider the long term effects on skateboarding and the health
of the skateboarding industry. Attendance was limited to a handful of
people for one simple reason- nobody was sure how this first meeting
would unfold. Would it be a big yelling and finger pointing session, or
would some serious discussion take place?

As it turned out after a few minutes at the beginning things calmed
down and the items covered in this report were discussed.

Let's stress again; it was not an intentional move to restrict this
meeting, or exclude any parties. It was just a starting point of what we
hope will be more Cooperation between companies to help the sport grow
and tackle some of the problems that are keeping skateboarding from
moving forward.

The Problem

In 1980 there were 175 pros at the Gold Cup series. Six months later
there were only 15 left. Think back to the early eighties and remember
how small skating can get. Our whole aim is to avoid that happening
again.

Everyone present at the meeting supports pro skateboarding. Many have
been professional skateboarders themselves. But the relationships
between pro skateboarding and their companies is supposed to be a 2 way
street, and in today's industry environment things have gone astray. We
have gone from the Mid eighties when everything was so strict as in
having to do well in am contests to turn pro, having to wear this shirt at
a contest, having to go on tour etc etc to today when being a professional
skateboarder you don't have to travel, enter contests, do demos, take
photos wear company or ride company products. We have to find the happy
medium. Something has to change for everyone to succeed. There is
presently an abundance of pro's and models, but not enough buyers.

The way the industry is going looks bleak and things could get a lot
worse before they get any better. If the blank war progresses any further
we could find the industry regressing back to a handful of pro's. The
intention of this meeting was to avoid such a collapse.

Notes on the Proceedings

Please read the items which follow. All the people listed made a
gentleman's agreement to keep to these points. We hope that other
company owners who read this will support what we are trying to do.
Many conclusions can be drawn from these notes, and if you need more
clarification, please call someone who was there. Don't just read
between the lines. We'd all be pleased to discuss this with anyone.
Overall it was a very positive meeting.

1) The need to rebuild Confidence
The overall theme of the meeting was to strive toward more stability in
the industry. More Consistency among companies, riders, teams and
products will help rebuild confidence among distributors and retailers.

2) The state of the Industry
Everyone present agreed (to varying degrees) that the industry was shaky
and that we had a lot to blame on ourselves for creating some of these
problems. It has gotten to the point where sales are weak and the
companies have less money to use for promotion and in turn less money to
take care of the riders.
ACTION: We need to cooperate together to turn this trend around and head
back in a positive direction.

3) Skateboarding doesn't seem like fun anymore
Media and companies tend to concentrate on the negative side of
skateboarding. At present skateboarding is not fun: Videos portray the
impossible, product is not designed for fun- this all targets the hardcore
market, and is not accessible to the "fun only" skater or the new skater.
ACTION: We as an industry, must concentrate on a more positive future.
We have narrowed down skateboarding to a very small market. Bring the
fun back and get the negative out. Target beyond the hardcore market: new
buyers, cruisers, recreational skaters. New kids who are not aware of all
this vibing crap. We want the media to show more variety of types of
skating out there. The companies will promote more accessible skating
and more positive images, produce products that are more fun to ride. We
need to make a wider board, bigger softer wheels etc as well as the
hardcore products. Tours, demo contests have to portray skateboarding in
a better light. Emphasize consistency, positive attitudes, company
support and promotion of the sport. Don't send out riders who do not agree
with this, otherwise we risk doing more harm than good.

4) Blank Boards
We have been promoting sales of blank boards by allowing our riders to
ride them. It was agreed that companies will only hand out with graphics
or logos. We will encourage the media not to show boards without
graphics and photographers will not shoot photos of team riders unless
they are supporting their sponsor by riding a board with company graphics
and wearing company T's, hats etc. No more blank boards, blank T's, Gap
jeans etc etc. As one distributor said, "How can we sell the products if
the pro's don't ride them?".
ACTION: This will require a process of education. We need to demonstrate
to the riders how supporting their companies will help the companies
support the riders. The riders who help their companies in this way are
the ones who should benefit themselves through increased sales, trips to
contests, tours, etc.

If this takes place we hope to see increased sales, increased payment
to
riders and more funds to promote skateboarding. Blank products only
supports an industry which is doing nothing for skateboarding's future.
ACTION: Everyone agreed to talk to the vendors and suppliers who are
selling the blank products. In the long term, sales of blank product will
destroy the market by eliminating the funds available for promotion. It's
a case of a small short term profit versus the long term health of the
Industry. We will also put more logo boards on the market and stabilize
product changes to re-establish the strong company identification that
has been lost through blank board sales.

5) The new Graphic problem
Slowing down graphic changes was discussed briefly. It was accepted
that this was killing deck sales. A distributor will only take 10 of a
board, a shop will only take one, both then expect a new graphic next
time. Reducing the rate of change across the whole industry was brought
up but no final solution was agreed. Some in the room said that they have
been slowing down already or are about to do so, others said that it was
impossible to slow now.
ACTION: We all agreed it was a serious situation which needs further
discussion.

6) Rider Guarantees
It was agreed that rider's deck guarantees no longer reflected the reality
of the size of the market.
ACTION: $500-1000 (for 1994) is more realistic for new pro's or under
fresh agreements and when a pro moves to a new company $2 per deck
was fine. (If a company has an existing agreement with a pro at $2000
for example, obviously it is up to that company to keep that agreement.)

7) Team Jumping
We need to protect the retailers, distributors and manufactures, and to
stabilize the market by reducing the harm caused by team jumping.
ACTION: If a rider leaves a company, the most that anyone can expect
from a new company is $1000 a month. Also communication will take
place between the 2 companies and the old company will have 90 days to
clear the rider's inventory. During this period the new company can pay
the rider but they can't release a model for him. The media will take an
active role in not covering the team jumping, riders quitting or other info
that will make inventory on a shelf or company or distributor warehouse
obsolete.

8) Too many Identical Models
There are too many pro models available on the market. Distributors and
shops dare not order every different one in quantity.
ACTION: Don't turn riders pro so easily. It means nothing to be a pro today
and the credibility and status of the pros suffer as a result. Have a rider
know what is expected of him and what he can expect in return. Make sure
they appreciate that is a two way deal. This is not a new concept, think
what sponsorship and being professional means. If the two way deal isn't
working out, companies should discuss the problem with the riders, but
if it doesn't work, they should let them go.

9) New Companies
We discussed how easy it is to enter the skateboard Industry. That it
shouldn't be a problem if someone wants to start a company. But when a
company is started to destroy another company, or make the stock on
everyone's floor obsolete, it only contributes to the instability of the
industry and erodes customer confidence in buying product.
ACTION: We should stop shooting ourselves in the foot by helping a
company get set up and running, especially companies who are coming in
for a quick buck, or do not support the industry and magazines, or do not
have long term plans.

Conclusion

This is a recap of what was discussed; it is no way complete, but it
covers the main points. Another meeting is loosely planned for the
beginning of May which other will be invited to. This was a positive move
toward a more unified and stable industry. So far all the points that were
discussed have been put into action, and the "we can trust these guys"
thinking has been shown to be an unnecessary fear. Some remarkable
cooperation has already taken place among people you would not have
expected it from.

Other Ideas and Topics discussed

Skateboarding Promo Video- Maybe by Stacey Peralta. A video aimed at
the general market, suitable for sale in every video store in the world.
NOT made for the hardcore market. Showing skateboarding as a positive
and fun thing to do. ESPN "Max Out" is interested in footage if you have
anything to send in to her. Her is her name and number: Karin Jacoby
212-586-6104.

Drug Abuse and Paying Ams

Make Skateboarding more accessible to potential skaters- Right now the
general public can't understand skating. It's too technical and too
inconsistent. Name another sport in which the pro's are so inconsistent.
Everyone must have heard non-skaters at pro contests ask when the pro's
skate. We must make them go "Wow! Look at that" if we want them to get
their attention. Right now skating does not look fun. The kid could quite
possibly pass by the skateshop and go buy a mountain bike or a basketball
instead.

We must encourage some changes. Modern street skating is rad but we
must add to it. Just think if we could have the street scene of today PLUS
the mini ramp scene from 89 PLUS the vert scene from 86 PLUS the
street scene from 85 PLUS the freestyle scene of 81 PLUS the pools and
park scene from the 70's etc etc . With skateboarding ten times a big,
pros could earn ten times as much money and companies make money. If
we want those days back we need to open our minds and not limit
skateboarding. That's what skateboarding was all about when we started.
There were no rules, it just mattered that you were doing it and having
fun.